Means for setting mosaics.



No. 706,874. Patented Aug. I2, |902.

F. ALBAN.

MEANS FOB SETTING MUSMGS.

(Applicaoon filed Apr. 5, 1902.)

(No Mode.)

UNTTEn dTnTEs FELIX ALCAN, OF NEW' YORK, N. Y.,

ASSIGNOR TO AMERIAN ENCUSTIG TILING coMPANn'LIMiTED, or NEW YORK, N.I A coRPoaATioN or NEW YRK;

MEANS FOR SETTINGK- MOSAlCS.

SPECIFIATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 706,874, dated lAugust 12, 19Q2.

ippneaiitniied April 5,1902. serial No. 101,473. camini.) I

To @ZZ whom t may concern: v

v Be it known that I', FELIX ALCAN, a citizen ,of the United States, and aresidentof the city of New York, borough of Manhattan, in the county and Stateof New York, haveinvented new and useful Improvements in Means for Setting Mosaics, of which the "following isra full; clear, and exact description.

My invention relates to means for setting zo mosaics in beds orlayers of cementitious material, 'wiich will be hereinafter -fully -described aiid the actual scope of which will be deiinedby theclaim. In the practical operation of setting mosaics in cement it is customary to prepare I-a pattern at a factory or other place-hy arranging the pieces of ceramic Ware, stone, or other ma-v terial which may have the desired shape and be of different contrasting colors, such pat 2o tern being attached by adhesive material to a bac-king of an opaque-pliable material. In placing the mosaic in the cement hed the workman or moasic-setter turns the 'pattern over, so that the mosaic is placed face downward and with the opaque backing uppermost. This is objectionable for three reasons: First, tiles or 'mosaics of the Wrong color are frequently placed in improper positions in the pattern. Thus a red mosaic is placed where 3o a blue or yellow one should be; but this fact cannot be detected by the workman, because the opaque backing prevents the colors of the mosaics from being seen while-setting them. Secondly, considerable time and labor isrequired to remove the improperly-placed mosaic from the hed after hardening ofthe -cement; and,.thirdly, the opaque backing mustv the mistake can be easily corrected before thecement becomes set and hard, andals'o to facilitate the stripping of the backing from the set mosaic, thereby eecting amaterial saving of time and labor in the setting of 5o mosaics.

vsaic. v. These channels between the mosaic Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings, forminga part of this specification, in which similar characters of reference indicate corresponding parts in both the figures.

Figure l is a plan View of a mosaic pattern having a transparent backing for holding the pieces of mosaic in proper order, and Fig. 2 is a sectional elevation through the mosaic. pattern after the same shallvv have been laid or inserted in the cementitions bed and before the removal of the-transparentbacking.

The mosaic pattern shown by Fig.` lofthc drawings may consist of pieces of mosaic A of any desired color, shape, and arrangement, and these pieces ot mosaic maybe either of ceramic lware, stone, or any other material. In the mosaic pattern shown hy Fig. l the first three rows from the bottom may consist of pieces 5 of one color-as, forinstancc, black; the rnextrow 6 may be of another color-as, for instance, red; the next row 7 may be of White pieces, while the circular or curved portion 8 maybe of a dark-brown color. This arrangement of the pieces of mosaic maybe infinitely varied and any desired contrasting colors may be employed in the formation of the pattern;

It is customary in the art to make up the pattern A at a factory or other convenient place and to apply the backing to the pieces of mosaic forming the pattern, such mosaic pieces beingdisposed in the spaced relation shown-by Fig. l in order to leave surrounding channelsA B around each piece of the momembers or pieces provide for the introdnc; tion of cement or other binding material into the said mosaic pieces, and the pliable backing is employed tn maintain the members of the patternin vthe spaced relation. The distinguishing and important feature of the present invention resides in the employment of a transparent backing G, this backing being applied to the active or wearing surfacesl of the pieces comprising the pat- 95 tern A. Y As sliown bythe drawings, the back- .ing is made of aiibrou's material of coarse mesh, such material being of an absorbent nature Vand adapted.A to be cemented securely to the active or wearing faces of the-mosaic :oo

pieces. The transparent backing layer of coarse-mesh fabric is laid or pressed smoothly over the Wearing-surface of the mosaics, and

this pattern and the backing are united tocementitious matter. The backing serves to maintain the pieces of mosaic in their proper relation, and the important `advantage secured by the backing resides in the adaptability of the Workman or mosaic-setter to see the pieces of mosaic with sulicient clearness and distinctness to enable him to detect whether or not pieces of the wrongco'lor are placed improperly in the pattern.

In using myinvemtion the .pattern is irst prepared with the transparent fibrous backing cemented thereto, and in this condition the pattern may be carried from the factory or any place of storage to the place where the pattern is to be s et in the cement bed. The cement D having been spread over a suitable* foundation E, as indicated in Fig. 2, the Workman takes the pattern and places it face v downward into the cement layer D,`the trans- 5 color.

'parent-.backing C being uppermost.

The workman presses the pattern into place, so that the cement will be thus forced upwardly into the channels B, surrounding the pieces of mosaic, and thus the pattern will Vbe embedded lin the cement bed, so that the mosaic pieces will be individually held immovably in place after the cement shall have hardened and become set.

In setting the mosaic pattern the workman is expected to inspect the pieces of mosaic by observing them through the transparent backing C, and in case he detects a piece of mosaic ofl the wrong color i-n the pattern such improper mosaic is removed from the set pattern before the cement shall have had an opportnnity to become hardened and set, thereby saving considerable time and labor in prying,r out an improperly-.placed piece of mosaic and resetting the same by a mosaic of proper Another advantage sccu red by the employment of the transparent fibrous backing C is that it can be readily moistened in order to strip itfrom the wcarinb-su-rface of the vmosaic pattern. This backing being composed of a fibrous fabric it will readily absorb moisture, and thereby dissolve or render soluble the cement which unites the backing to the mosaic pattern; and after the pattern shall have been moistened for a shorttime the workman can easily remove or strip the backbacking is adapted to remain uppermost in the operation of setting the pattern in a cementitious bed', and said backing is adapted to be subsequently stripped from the mosaicpattern after it shall'have been fixed in place p by the hardening of the cement layer or bed.

.Having thus described my invention, I claim as new and desire -to secure by Letters Patentf I A mosaic pattern comprising an open-mesh absorbent backing made of fibrous woven inaterial, and pieces of suitably-colored tile arranged in the desired order on the backing With-open or unfilled spaces intervening thc same, each piece of tile being lirmly united to the backing by soluble cement; said backing material having its meshesso arranged as to make the color of the tiles plainly visible through the backing; the entire pattern adapted to be placed face downward in a bed of cementitious -material and the backingl being Vsaturatedwi'th moisture and stripped from the active wearing-faces of the tiles.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

FELIX 'ALCAN Witnesses:

LOUIS C. GAERTrn W. II. SCHLAEFER. 

